Various schemes for creating and executing a workflow process have been proposed. As used herein, the terms “workflow process” or “executing a workflow process” refer to executing steps of a business process using software tools. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,246 describes a method for managing a workflow using the Internet. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,176 describes a system for automatically coordinating workflow among various workgroups in a credit application process. As yet another example, U.S. published patent application number 2002/0095311 to the present inventor describes a technique for facilitating a business process involving negotiation of a contract. In one variation of that technique, two negotiators are provided with structured steps for negotiating a contract, and are permitted to defer agreement on certain aspects of the contract until a later phase of the negotiation process.
The creation of a workflow process to carry out a business process usually begins by defining steps and parameters of that process, followed by development of customized computer software to execute the process. Such a creation method may be difficult or unwieldy for a novice user. It may be cumbersome to think abstractly about steps that should be executed and the order in which they must be executed. Moreover, the creation of custom-made software is expensive and time-consuming.
Another way of approaching the problem is to start backwards, by looking at the resulting product or products of the business process, and using those products to discern the structured process used to create them. In many business processes, the resulting product is a document or set of documents, such as a lease; a business proposal; a due diligence report; or the like. Consequently, it would be an improvement to be able to create and modify a workflow process by deconstructing or “reverse engineering” one or more documents resulting from the business process.